The objective is to have the 10,000 tourists discuss their experiences online, and allow word-of-mouth reports to propagate about safe and hassle-free travel in Japan. Visitors will also fill out a questionnaire about how they feel about visiting Japan after the earthquake and any proposals they might have to renew interest in tourism. The Ministry will request $150 million in funding for this program.

Tourism in July and August this year was down about 30 percent from the same period a year ago. One reason for the drop is that the yen is historically quite strong against the U.S. dollar, making it a somewhat more expensive destination for Americans to visit now than in the past.

The other issue is safety: The government says the mainland is safe except near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, where work is still underway toward a full shutdown. Last Friday, the US government downgraded its travel warnings for Japan: Citizens only need to avoid areas within a dozen miles of the plant.

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